Thanksgiving is fast approaching, so to get everyone in the mood I thought I would share with you how I celebrated Canadian Thanksgiving which was in October. For you Americans wondering what is Canadian Thanksgiving, the answer according to Wikipedia is:
“On Thursday, January 31, 1957, the Canadian Parliament proclaimed: A Day of General Thanksgiving to Almighty God for the bountiful harvest with which Canada has been blessed – to be observed on the 2nd Monday in October."
So in conclusion, I would say that it’s a day to celebrate how grateful we are for food. I’m in!
Being away from my family, I’ve had to find a new way to celebrate with my own traditions. Last year my "male roomie" and I hosted a potluck Thanksgiving. We invited our orphan Canadian friends (and sprinkled in a few Americans) and it turned out to be a hit, so we decided to make it an official tradition!
I’m not going to lie, I was a little nervous about hosting this year because we upped the guest list from 14 (last year) to 20 (this year). I loved the idea of having all our friends over, but sometimes I get anxiety when I think about making sure 20 people are fed & happy - but the show must go on!
If you are ever planning on hosting a big dinner, let me tell you, a pot luck is the way to do it! The pressure is off of the host to make multiple dishes and also everyone gets to bring their secret family recipes. My "male roomie" made a huge 20 pound turkey and I made a vegetarian meat loaf (it was not 20 pounds). Everyone else volunteered to bring their favorite dish and voila, you have a complete meal.
While the bird was finishing, I had a signature cocktail for everyone. I decided on Moscow Mules because they are light, crisp, refreshing & easy to make. It’s also delicious “virgin” style for those who didn’t want any alcohol.
One of my favorite traditions when we have friends over is to leave my Instax camera out so everyone can snap some photos. It's a fun way for everyone to document the night and is always entertaining to look at the next morning.
One of my favorite traditions when we have friends over is to leave my Instax camera out so everyone can snap some photos. It's a fun way for everyone to document the night and is always entertaining to look at the next morning.
When the bird was finally ready, we all lined up in the kitchen to pile up our plates with way too much food.
And don’t get me started with dessert. We had pumpkin pie, homemade brownies, cookies and my friend Dan’s signature dessert, monkey bread. He had some technical difficulties with the pan which resulted in sugar burning in the oven and a whole lot of smoke!
Amber brought the most delicious Nanaimo bars and mouthwatering butter tarts (both Canadian inspired treats). They were so good that people were talking about them after she left. If you ask nicely, I'm sure she will share the recipe with you.
One of the highlights of the night for me may sound strange, but it was when my friends Carly and Justin pulled out a vintage tube of Pogs. Remember Pogs? Those small discs of cardboard turned a group of grown men into young giddy boys.
And what Thanksgiving would be complete without a family portrait?